Magnetic heads employed for the recording and retrieval of data on a data recording media, such as magnetic tape, are typically multitrack devices having a plurality of electrical conductors for receiving and transmitting the data with respect to one or more data channels.
The conductors are conventionally one or more flexible ribbon cables which are bonded at electrical connections on the head. The bonding, for example, thermo compression bonding, is very fragile to movement or stress.
Higher capacity magnetic tape devices have more data recording tracks than tracks on the magnetic head, and conventionally employ servo systems for moving the head back and forth across the tape to interface with different sets of tracks. This movement of the head and connected flexible ribbon cable(s), while the data channel connections at the other end of the flexible ribbon cable(s) are stationary, tends to stress the head/cable bonded connections. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a strain relief for the flexible ribbon cable(s) for the head/cable bonded connections.